Little Egg Harbor Homes for Sale - 4th Quarter Housing Market Report, 2012 A small blip in Little Egg Harbor's improving housing market can been seen in the final quarter of 2012.  That blip is November and is due to super storm Sandy.   Little Egg Harbor officials estimate 5,000 homes in the Mystic Island section have been substantially damaged, the figure could be higher. If December's figures are any indication the real impact of Sandy won't be felt until the Little Egg Harbor waterfront home shopping season really gets underway in late February.  Listings are down, prices are up slightly so there's going to be more competition for fewer homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor.   Activity  Date New Listings   Under Contract   Expired With- drawn Sold   Days On Market Median Sold $ Oct 20... 01/22/2013

First Time Home Buyers - Trust a Home InspectorI realize the excitement, putting in an offer on your first home!  After that offer is accepted, PLEASE let the home inspector make the calls!Unless your Mom, Dad, brother, sister, cousin or best friend is a licensed home inspector in New Jersey, take their comments about a bad sheetrock taping job or a sloping plant bed and mention those concerns to your home inspector.     If you, as a buyer, want your Dad or Mom to come in and check out the home that you're buying that's fine.  It's exciting!  But realize, although they're parents, they are not home inspectors.  They might have purchased a few homes, but again they are not experts.  So tell your parents, brother, sister, cousin or best friend  to take notes when you show them the home yo... 01/15/2013

It's been two months since Super Storm Sandy hit the Jersey Shore, and Little Egg Harbor homeowners are frustrated.  That was clear at a meeting last night attended by more than 900 Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton residents and representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and local officials. Little Egg officials have projected that more than 5,000 homes were substantially damaged in the storm, and many of those residents remain displaced.  The standing room only crowd in the Pinelands High School Auditorium questioned the new FEMA Advisory Flood Plan Elevation maps for Little Egg Harbor, which suggest raising the base home elevation to 12 feet and where the money would come from to raise homes below that 12 foot mark.  Currently the base flood elevation for the ... 01/04/2013

Little Egg Harbor Short Sale Sellers Now Is the Time - Take ControlAlong with the many bills signed into law this week, the federal government has extended for one year the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act.  So if you sell your Little Egg Harbor home (primary residence) for less than you owe, you can take advantage of the tax amnesty on mortgage principle forgiven.  But you must close before January 1, 2014.What that means for Little Egg Harbor homeowners who need to sell and sell short, now is the time to act.Short sales are not short!  I've closed Little Egg Harbor short sales in as little as three months, but another took almost a year.  That doesn't leave you much leeway.  If you want to take advantage of the extended tax amnesty under the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act and live in Mana... 01/02/2013

Little Egg Harbor Homes for Sale - November 2012 Housing Market Report There were 35 Little Egg Harbor homes for sale withdrawn from the market in November.  That's double the number withdrawn during November 2011.  Despite this effect from Super Storm Sandy, actual home sales in Little Egg Harbor kept pace with 2011. Activity Date: NewListings UnderContract Expired With-drawn Sold Days onMarket MedianSold $ November 2012 29 34 48 35 19 142 $118,000 In 2011, twenty Little Egg Harbor homes sold during the month of November.  17 homes for sale were withdrawn from the market in November 2011.  Another effect of the storm, just 29 homes were listed for sale in November, 2012 compared to 55 new listings during the same period of 2011.  The number of homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor today ... 12/22/2012

Rebuilding a Better Jersey Shore - Analyzing & Interpreting Proposed FEMA Flood Elevation MapsAs promised the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has released the proposed Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) for 10 of New Jersey's 21 counties.You can check out this map for the southern end of Little Egg Harbor.For northern Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton flood elevations this is the map panel.These are just recommendations, but will likely guide municipal officials because compliance will lower flood insurance rates for residents.  According to municipal officials in southern Ocean County and northern Atlantic County, homeowners that suffered damage exceeding 50% of the value of the building will be forced to rebuild their home according to new flood codes.  Although the... 12/14/2012

 Jersey Shore Braces for New Flood Insurance Guidelines While Jersey Shore residents continue to recover from Super Storm Sandy, many are waiting for the federal government’s expanded flood zone maps and the inevitable push for increases in building elevations along the Jersey Shore. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was planning to revise flood-elevation rules in the Jersey Shore’s coastal zones sometime next year, but due to the extensive damage caused by the storm it will issue stricter advisory recommendations sometime this week. The rules are expected to result in construction at much higher elevations along the Jersey Shore.  FEMA is pushing the new regs because it’s concerned that rebuilding at current levels would be obsolete sometime next year. FEMA will issue “Adv... 12/11/2012

I thought I'd share some photos of the Jersey Shore.  We're cleaning up, but there's a lot left to do. Barnegat Municipal Dock Parking Lot on Sunday, October 28thThe Storm wasn't even here yet! (That's the Barnegat Bay on the other side of the Pavillion.) Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Tuesday, October 30This was the first time they let cars and residents back onto Osborn Island.  Floating docks were everywhere but the lagoons where they below. The clean up continues! What's left of one Bay front home in Barnegat 11/14/2012

There are 333 homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor today.  This is down from the September Little Egg Harbor Housing Market Report number of 391.  This is not only due to listings expiring, but those withdrawn because of damage from the storm and those taken off the market for rentals to families that lost their homes in the storm. Activity Date: NewListings UnderContract Expired Sold Days onMarket MedianSold Price October 2012 45 35 40 30 198 $160,000 The number of homes under contract is good, but 11 of those are Little Egg Harbor waterfront properties.  They could be damaged, or closings delayed due to re-inspections for appraisals.   Since the storm 12 homes in Little Egg Harbor have been withdrawn from the market.  If you need more information on homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor,... 11/12/2012

Emergency Housing at the Jersey ShoreThe Jersey Shore Multiple Listing Service has created a new search category for Emergency Housing.  That search portal will be fully operational shortly.  If you have seller clients that have already moved or have a vacation home and it's still safe please offer it for rent to a homeless family at the Jersey Shore.Contact your REALTOR®, or me (my info is below) and I'll put you in touch with someone from your neighborhood so we can provide homes for our neighbors.  If you live outside of the east coast, contribute the Red Cross. Stay Strong New Jersey...and the East Coast! 11/02/2012

The sights in Little Egg Harbor this morning had nothing to do with views of the Great Bay, or watching your backyard lagoon.  In Little Egg Harbor, Thursday morning the tides had receded and the roadways filled with tow trucks and contractors.  On the side of it's roads were memories lost... A Jersey Shore Dream...Damaged  Who Belongs to this dock?  Mystic Island and Osborn Island waterfront homes were devastated by the high water associated with the storm that brought down Jersey Shore landmarks like the Seaside Heights boardwalk and the georgous homes of Mantaloking. I have electricty, for those that don't and have a cell phone (our tower appears to be working agin) call me, I'll do everything I can. There will be many insurance claims:; homeowners, flood and auto.  If you need pictu... 11/01/2012

Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Bridge Replacement Update...It's Happening! Osborn Island Bridge We've been hearing about Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Bridge replacement for some time now, heck I've been writing about it for over a year... Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Bridge Replacement September 2011 Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Bridge Replacement - Update August, 2012 Atlantic Electric has already installed new polls to Osborn Island, once it gets the old utility poles out, we'll be on our way to a bigger and better Little Egg Harbor Osborn Island bridge. The red arrow points to the new utility poles, the black arrow to the poles that will removed. If you need a knowledgeable local REALTOR at the Jersey Shore contact Little Egg Harbor REALTOR Laura Giannotta at 609-3... 10/27/2012

Foreclosure Homes in Little Egg Harbor Homes buyers in Little Egg Harbor, and all over New Jersey, waiting for another wave of foreclosures to hit the housing market might not see the significant rise in foreclosures experts were forecasting. New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state meaning the foreclosure process has to wind its way through the court system.  As a result the banks have been careful to make sure all their paperwork is complete and accurate which has slowed the process significantly. In addition, lenders are looking for ways to keep delinquent borrowers from falling into foreclosure.  They are opting to either refinance their loans or agreeing to more short sales where they agree to a sales price that is less than what is owed on the mortgage and , because even the len... 10/24/2012

  To Revalue or Reassess Property in Little Egg Harbor - That is the Question Following weeks of dispute on the best way to revalue the township’s property base, the Little Egg Harbor Tax Assessor and Township officials have begun meetings to discuss the decision to complete a township-wide revaluation or tax assessment.Two years ago, the Little Egg Harbor Tax Assessor called on the township to conduct a township-wide reassessment because he believed the process would be cheaper than a revaluation.Little Egg Harbor officials are in the midst of deciding how to proceed as tax appeals have surged from about 600 to about 1,500 annually since 2010.Several residents of Little Egg Harbor's 5 adult communities have recommended the reassessment, rather than paying an outside firm $750,000 for a... 10/19/2012

  Little Egg Harbor Homes for Sale - Little Egg Harbor Housing Market Report - September, 2012 There are 391 homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor today.  That includes waterfront homes, adult community homes and Little Egg Harbor condos for sale.  The good news for Little Egg Harbor home sellers is that days on the market is continuing to drop.  Activity Date: NewListings Back onMarket UnderContract Expired Sold Days onMarket MedianSold Price September 2012 66 17 40 36 24 153 $149,950 The good news for home buyers is that sale prices are down.  This 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home in Little Egg Harbor's Winding Run section is a short sale that went under contract in September.  There are 35 similar homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor.   If you need more information on homes for sale in Little Eg... 10/11/2012

Little Egg Harbor Retirement Communities - Cranberry Creek - July, 2012 Report There are 7 homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor's Cranberry Creek adult community.  Those homes range in price from $175,000 for a 2 bedroom 2 bath home up to $247,500 for a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 2 story home. Four Cranberry Creek retirement community homes sold in the first 7 months of 2012.  All were 2 bedroom 2 bath homes.  The sale prices were between $149,900 and $175,000. The Cranberry Creek adult community in Little Egg Harbor was built by the Kleiner Group.  Construction began 2003. This is an active adult community for people over 55.  Home sizes range up to 2,400 sq ft and offer 2-3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 9′ ceilings and a 1 or 2 car garage. All Cranberry Creek homes in Little Egg Harbor are built to Energ... 08/14/2012

More Hurricanes...Gazing Into A Crystal Ball The height of the hurricane season started this week, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a revised forecast increasing the estimated number of storms forming before November 30th. Initially back in May NOAA called for 9 to 15 named storms, with 4 to 8 of those reaching hurricane status. The revised estimates put the number of named storms between 12 and 17, with 5 to 8 strengthening to hurricanes. The Climate Prediction Center can't say where those storms will develop or make landfall. Perhaps by next year someone will have developed an app for that! (Or we could carry on the old way!) 08/10/2012

Little Egg Harbor Retirement Communities - Sunrise Bay – July 2012 Report Sunrise Bay There are currently (August, 2012) 15 homes for sale in Sunrise Bay in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore.  Those adult community homes range in price from $129,900 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style home to $254,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath loft model. Only one home in the Sunrise Bay adult community sold so far this year (2012).  It was a 2 bedroom/2 bath home that sold for $152,000.  Last year (2011) 8 homes sold, according to the Jersey Shore Multiple Listing Service.  Those 2011 sales ranged in price from $162,000 to $263,000. The Sunrise Bay retirement community in Little Egg Harbor was built by the Kleiner Group and is located about 15 minutes off of the Garden State Parkway (Exit 58).  The S... 08/09/2012

Waterfront Homes in Little Egg Harbor - A Slice of Jersey Shore Life! Waterfront home sales in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore are the best they’ve been in many years. Fifty-two waterfront homes in Little Egg Harbor have sold in 2012, the most waterfront homes sold since 2008. The Little Egg Harbor waterfront homes sold this year were priced between $65,000 (bank owned) and at the top end $375,000. There are currently 155 waterfront homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor, with prices ranging from $99,000 to $739,000. Do you want bay views, wildlife views or just a place to dock your boat and water toys? Chances are I can find a home on the water in Little Egg Harbor that exceed will your expectations! Contact Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at 609-384-6121…Get your slice o... 08/04/2012

  Little Egg Harbor's Osborn Island Bridge Replacement - Update The aging bridge over Big Creek leading from Little Egg Harbor's Mystic Island to Osborn Island will be replaced, just not as soon as expected.   The work to replace the Osborn Island Bridge was scheduled to begin this spring, but Ocean County just got final approval for the state’s contribution. The existing Osborn Island Bridge was originally built in 1964, rebuilt in 1981 and rehabbed in 1995.  The Ocean County Engineering Department has now determined the bridge reached the end of its life due to extensive damage to the pilings and heavier traffic to Osborn Island.   This bridge is the only street access to Osborn Island. The Osborn Island Bridge replacement plans remain the same.  The new bridge will be built to th... 08/02/2012